Maoists seek to form government

Nepal’s Maoist party on Thursday reached out to other political parties to meet a July 7 presidential deadline to form a national government under its leadership, a day after the embattled prime minister quit following months of protests by the former rebels.

Political parties on Thursday began consultations to meet the July 7 deadline set by President Ram Baran Yadav to recommend the name of a new Prime Minister to form a consensus government as per the constitutional provision, following the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Wednesday.

Main opposition Unified CPN-Maoist, the largest party in the 601-member Constituent Assembly with nearly 40 per cent seats, on Thursday set up a three-member committee led by party supremo Prachanda to form a national consensus government under its leadership.

The Maoists standing committee decided to take initiatives to form a new government under the party’s leadership.

Senior leaders in the Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the House, also staked its claim to lead a new government.